Pages

Mt. Mantalingajan Traverse | Palawan

The summit of Mt. Mantalingajan

Mt. Mantalingajan is situated in Rizal, Palawan with more than 4
hours travel from Puerto Princesa City. Manta (another name given) got the 9/9 rating in terms of difficulty. Some
of the hikers I met said that it is a combination of Mt. Halcon in Mindoro and
Mt. Guiting-guiting in Romblon. And to complete my MIMAROPAs Big 3, here’s Mt. Mantalingajan.

Our first stop over was at Babes
R. Fast food, by the highway. It was the perfect place for our breakfast and our
packed lunch. Comfort rooms are available here.While heading to Rizal, we had few stop over at the market where we
bought supplies, trail foods and etc.

Balin-balin Village, Mt. Mantalingajan

The weather was not fine during
our hike, so after getting off the van, we walked on a muddy and rough road to Balin-Balin village. This village has
few families with farming as their source of income. Their houses are made of nipa and wood.

Mt. Mantalingajan - the trail after the rain

From Balin-balin Village, it’s another
muddy trail ascent to Mamamahin, the spot where the tall Manguis tree (called Ginoo) is situated. It is also the place
where I heard a noise of a festival from Taw’t Batu tribe (photo below) nearby, having their wine party. It was a continued
ascent to Magtangob and Sir Buldog’s
house.

Tau't Batu; men hunting for their living

Tau’t Batu (people of the rock) are indigenous people located in some high
lying areas on Mt. Mantalingajan. As of right now, most of them are still using
the ancient mode of living, like hunting and farming. They also use caves as
their home but some already have houses made of light and sturdy materials like
nipa, coconut leaves and woods.During our visit, I noticed that most of the
women use cloth to cover their bodies while shirts and G-strings for the men.

Mt. Mantalingajan Trail to Paray-Paray

We passed on the trails and spots
such as Mangamot, Camp 1 or the Kabwan Community, Mangkopa, Kawayanan, Dikloy-Dikloy
which is still part of Ransang, Palawan. Next spots were Polango area, bonsai
area (photo above), Gunob and Paray-Paray camp
site.

Mt. Mantalingajan Trail, from Paray-Paray to the summit

Another challenging part was
trekking to the Summit of Mt. Mantalingajan. It wasn’t easy, because my rock
scrambling ability was tested, but the trail still has a virgin forest and the
ambiance was cool. Another part was another Bonsai area, which is perfect for
photo background. Photos below were taken from the summit. These will show the
hidden beauty of Mantalingajan:

During our one night stay at
Paray-Paray, sleeping in a tent was a challenge. The temperature was really low
– it was cold and descending Mantalingajan was a difficult one. The trails have
downhill, uphills, mossy forest, rock scrambling, loose rocks and soil. There
were long part with a cliff hanging trail. Trails and spots were Lapong, fork trail to Kamantian trail, Nagringgit range, Karim, Kawang-Kawang, and Kupang area. We
also passed on the community called Perataw.

Reminder | If you’re planning to experience the beauty of Mt.
Mantalingajan, physical and mental aspects are needed! Everyone should also secure permits, guides and porters.